


Love Letters

by seiseijoh



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Crushes, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Idiots in Love, Love Confessions, Love Letters, M/M, Not Beta Read, Romantic Fluff, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff, everyone is trying their best, it's dumb and stupid just like the boys, kurodai - Freeform, of the best friend variety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-20
Updated: 2020-02-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:40:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22818640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seiseijoh/pseuds/seiseijoh
Summary: Suga and Asahi know Daichi has been crushing on one Kuroo Tetsurou for months now. It’s obvious to everyone – except, perhaps, one Kuroo Tetsurou. So, with Valentine’s Day approaching, they convince Daichi to travel to Tokyo to confess his feelings.Yaku and Kai know Kuroo has been crushing on one Sawamura Daichi for months now. It’s obvious to everyone – except, perhaps, one Sawamura Daichi. So, with Valentine’s Day approaching, they convince Kuroo to travel to Sendai to confess his feelings.We all know where this is going. A story of four idiots convincing two idiots to do something daring and romantic only for everyone to realise that maybe, they’re not quite as clever as they thought.
Relationships: Kuroo Tetsurou/Sawamura Daichi
Comments: 13
Kudos: 143





	Love Letters

**Author's Note:**

> Y'all I was gonna write this to post on Valentine's Day and then I promptly forgot about it until Valentine's Day, so now it's late but whatever, there's always a need for stupid, dumb, Kurodai fluff.
> 
> Some notes: Since it's never explicitly stated where Karasuno is, I used Sendai. Probably not accurate, I don't care. It's close enough. Also, this has not been beta-read, so there will likely be mistakes, most probably of the tense variety. I've read over and edited, but it's more than likely that I've missed things. Be kind. 
> 
> And on that note, enjoy the stupid, dumb Kurodai fluff, because I certainly enjoyed writing it like, a LOT

“So, Dai, what are you doing for Valentine’s Day?”

Suga smirks as he says it, even before Daichi’s ears turn bright red and he pointedly hurries down the stairs from the clubroom. But it’s not so easy to get away – Asahi is already at the bottom, waiting for them, trying not to smile.

“Come on.” Suga gives him a little nudge with his foot in the small of his back, sending Daichi stumbling off the last step. “I’m sure you’re doing something fun and interesting.”

“It’s none of your business what I’m doing,” Daichi says, hitching his bag up awkwardly on his shoulder, and Suga stops.

“Wait, are you actually doing something!?”

Asahi giggles as Daichi spins with wide eyes. “No! That’s not what I meant! I just… even if I _was_ doing something, it wouldn’t be any of your business. But… I’m not doing anything.”

He says the last part a little sadly, shifting his gaze to the ground. Suga cocks his head, then laughs.

“Oh, I thought maybe you’d finally got your shit together and asked Kuroo out.”

“Shut up!”

Suga breezes past him, Asahi following, and Daichi scrambles to catch up. Over his shoulder, Suga says, “Come on, Dai, it’s okay. You can tell us. I mean, not that you need to. Because it’s incredibly obvious to anyone with half a braincell.”

Daichi falls into step beside the pair. He doesn’t lift his eyes from the ground as they leave the campus, and it’s a good five minutes before he says, “Are you saying even Hinata and Kageyama know?”

Suga snorts. “Okay, maybe it requires two braincells. But thank you for finally admitting it, after… how many months now?”

Daichi rolls his eyes. “Seriously, shut up.”

“It’s cute,” Asahi offers. “You don’t have to hide your feelings, Daichi.”

“I do when Suga’s involved,” Daichi says, and Suga pokes his tongue out at him.

“Anyway,” he says. “That just brings me back to my original question. What are you going to do for Valentine’s Day?”

“I already answered – nothing.”

“You have the perfect opportunity to tell Kuroo that you have a huge, massive, dumb crush on him, and you’re _not_ going to take it? Asahi, back me up here, tell him he’s stupid.”

Asahi laughs behind his hand as Daichi glares at them and whacks Suga on the shoulder with his bag. “It’s not like that!”

“Admit it,” Suga sing-songs, dancing out of reach of the next hit and hiding on Asahi’s other side. “You got a big ol’ crush on Cat Boy.”

“Do _not_ call him that!”

Daichi jumps to catch Suga with his bag again, but Suga dodges with a grin and the blow connects with Asahi’s lower back. Asahi yelps, and Daichi rushes an apology, but then he’s chasing after Suga again, the setter giggling hysterically.

“Daichi’s got a crush on Cat Boy, Daichi’s got a crush on Cat Boy!”

“Shut up!” Daichi finally manages to get hold of Suga and wrestles the cackling boy to the ground, but even he’s trying not to laugh. “Stop calling him that!”

Squashed into the pavement with Daichi’s considerable bulk on top of him, Suga wheezes, “Okay! Dumbass, get off me!”

Daichi rolls off, and Asahi helps the pair of them back to their feet. As they’re brushing the dirt off their uniforms, Asahi rolls his eyes and says, “Anyone would think you’re first years, messing around like that.”

Suga shoots Daichi a mischievous smirk. “I think Daichi would rather be ‘messing around’ with someone else.”

Daichi glares, and grabs the strap of his bag to sling it, probably right into Suga’s smug face, but Asahi flails an arm between them to stop the assault before it starts.

“Seriously though,” Suga says, “Why aren’t you going to tell him? Valentine’s Day is literally perfect.”

Daichi’s face is bright red, and Suga is pretty sure it’s not just from the exertion of beating up one of his best friends. He stumbles over his words for a moment, and then - “I… He… There’s no way he feels the same way.”

Suga rolls his eyes, but it’s a whole head motion. “You’re _so_ wrong.”

“How would you know?” Daichi challenges.

“First of all; Kuroo not being attracted to you is dumb as hell, because you’re hot and he’s hot and hot people find other hot people attractive.”

Daichi frowns, glances at Asahi, who looks just as confused. Suga continues without pause.

“Secondly, he’s been crushing on you at least as long as you’ve been crushing on him, because I _saw_ the way he was looking at you at the training camp. The way he talked to you, the way he acted around you. He was _definitely_ into you.”

“No, he wasn’t,” Daichi says, but he doesn’t sound entirely convinced.

“I think,” Asahi says, “that you’re not going to know for sure unless you tell him. I mean, if it turns out Suga’s wrong –”

“I’m not.”

“- then at least he’s all the way in Tokyo and you don’t have to see him every day. You can block him and pretend like it never happened.”

“That’s incredibly inspiring, Asahi,” Suga snorts.

He starts to say something about how it’d be stupid of Daichi to miss out on such a perfect opportunity, that he can’t pass up the most romantic day of the year to confess his undying love just because he’s a little nervous. But when he looks back at Daichi, it seems like he’s actually thinking about the possibility of not being dumb, and then he bites his lip and says, “Maybe… maybe I _could_ say something…”

“Yes! That’s the spirit!” Suga says, slapping his shoulder. “How are you going to do it?”

“I… I don’t know…” Daichi muses. “I mean… I could text him.”

“ _No way_.” Suga shakes his head. “This is _Valentine’s Day_ we’re talking about, and you’re confessing your crush. You have to do more than just text him. It has to be something romantic, a _gesture_.”

Asahi suggests, “Write a letter?”

Suga cocks his head. “I mean, it’s more romantic than a text. But Valentine’s Day is only a few days away, and there’s no way it’d get there in time. Wait!” He grins. “Write a letter, but give it to him in person!”

“I – I couldn’t tell him in person!” Daichi panics, eyes wide. “Besides, it’s a school day, I can't just… _go_ to Tokyo.”

“Screw it, you can take a day off. Coach isn’t even making us practice. And you don’t have to say anything. Just give him the letter.”

“But I… I’d _be_ there…”

“Yeah, and when he reads the letter and realizes you’re madly in love with him too, he’ll be able to make out with you right there and then, you won’t have to wait.”

“Suga!” Daichi says, exasperated. But the flush rises in his cheeks again, and Suga smirks.

“You better hurry and make up your mind,” he says as he starts walking again. “You haven’t got long until the big day!”

* * *

“So, Tetsu, what are you doing for Valentine’s Day?”

Yaku grins as Kuroo drops the clubroom keys, cursing under his breath.

“None of your business,” he mutters as he bends to pick them up.

Yaku stares for a second, then kicks him full in the side, toppling the captain onto the floor with a yelp. Kai, standing too close, has to jump back a step to avoid getting taken out at the knees by a sputtering 6’ 2” lump.

“What was that for!?”

“You asked Sawamura out and didn’t tell me!? Asshole!”

“ _What_? How the hell did you draw that conclusion!?”

Yaku screws up his nose and huffs, “You've had a crush on Sawamura since the training camp and now you’re saying your Valentine's Day plans are ‘none of my business'? I can put two and two together.”

“Well, somehow, you put two and two together and got five, because I'm not doing anything for Valentine's Day, and I certainly have not asked Sawamura out.” Kuroo got to his feet and brushed off his uniform with a scowl.

He grabs the keys and locks the door, and then Kai says casually, “So you do have a crush on him.”

“I…”

“You didn’t deny it,” Yaku smirks.

Kuroo sighs and glares at each of his friends in turn. “Fine! I'll admit it! I have a crush on Sawamura!”

He picks up his bag from where it fell and starts to walk away. Kai keeps up easily and Yaku has to run to catch up, trapping Kuroo between them.

“So, why aren't you going to do anything for Valentine's then?” he asks.

Kuroo looks at him like he's crazy. “Because I don’t have anyone to do anything with?”

Kai says with a smile, “You would if you spoke to Sawamura.”

“Shut up, he doesn't like me like that.”

“Hold on,” Yaku says, frowning. “You're telling me that you haven't said anything to him because you don't think he's interested?”

Kuroo rolls his eyes, sighs like it’s obvious. “I'm not about to embarrass myself in front of him.” He pulls his phone from his pocket and waves it almost dismissively. “We've been texting for ages. I'd know if he was interested.”

Yaku squints suspiciously. Kuroo continues as they leave the school grounds, carrying on about how there was no way Sawamura was even remotely into him because he _knows_ when people are flirting with him. Yaku just eyes his phone the entire time, until finally he snatches it from his hand and starts to run.

“Yaku Morisuke, you give me that back!” Kuroo shouts, giving chase, but Yaku is far too quick for him. By the time he catches up and rips it from his hands, Yaku’s already been through his Instagram DMs, text messages, and opened up his Snapchat, which Kuroo quickly closes.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Yaku wants to throttle him for being so incredibly dense, but he curbs the feeling and instead folds his arms firmly across his chest. “He’s totally into you!”

“You can’t know that,” Kuroo says defensively. “You only skimmed the messages. I’ve been texting him for months. _I know_.”

Kai, panting a little at having to bolt to catch up to them, drops a hand on Kuroo’s shoulder at the same time that Yaku rolls his eyes and says, “Has it ever occurred to you that Sawamura is shit at flirting? Because he is, but he’s definitely flirting.”

Kuroo pouts. “Sawamura is not shit at anything.”

Kai pats his shoulder. “I think you’re too close to the situation to see clearly, Tetsu.”

“I think Kuroo would rather be ‘too close’ to something else,” Yaku says with a devilish grin.

Kuroo smacks him around the side of the head, but he’s red all the way to the tips of his ears, and Yaku’s pretty sure it’s not just from all the running.

“You should tell him,” Kai says matter-of-factly.

“I-I can’t just… _tell_ him. What if you’re wrong?”

Yaku scoffs, “I’m not.”

“You want to tell him, don’t you?” Kai asks. “I mean, if he is interested in you, then you want him to know you feel the same way, right? You want to date him?”

“I…” Kuroo stammers, blushing furiously, clutching the strap of his bag. “I would… like to date him.”

With a snigger, Yaku shakes his head. “You’re so dumb. Just tell him. You’ve got Valentine’s Day coming up, and Sawamura seems like that traditional type, right? Do some romantic confession and he’ll eat it up.”

Kuroo bites his lip, unable to make eye contact with either of his friends. “I don’t… know what to do. It’s hard enough even saying anything to you guys, let alone actually… _telling him_.”

“You could write him a letter? That’s romantic,” Kai offers. “And then you don’t have to actually say anything.”

“It’s romantic, sure,” Yaku says. “But there’s no way a letter would get there in time, not with Valentine’s Day so close. But!” He holds up a finger triumphantly. “Write a letter, and deliver it to him personally!”

“Are you kidding?” Kuroo stares. “That’s basically like telling him myself!”

Kai cocks his head, muses, “I don’t think it’s a bad idea. You have the time to write down exactly how you feel, and don’t have to worry about messing it up or saying the wrong thing.”

“And then you’re right there for Sawamura to throw himself at afterwards,” Yaku laughs.

Kuroo takes a step like he’s going to hit him, and Yaku jumps back. But then Kuroo stops, twisting his hands in the strap of his bag, and looks away.

“Maybe… maybe it’s not the worst idea…”

“Glad we could help,” Kai smiles, patting him on the back before starting off on their walk home again.

Both Kuroo and Yaku jog to catch up with him. Once they’re side by side, Kuroo once again in the middle, Yaku nudges him with his elbow.

“Don’t take too long to write it, you haven’t got much time left!”

* * *

“I still can’t believe how much effort it took to get him on the damn train,” Suga sighs, hands in the pockets of his jacket as they make their way towards the school.

Beside him, Asahi smiles. “You think he’ll actually do it?”

“Well, he’ll have just finished a nearly five-hour journey, so he better,” Suga huffs.

His phone is sitting in his jacket pocket and he flips it over and over in his hand, waiting for the moment it buzzes with a celebratory text from Daichi. He expects nothing less, but he also can’t help but be a little nervous for him. He joked and he teased him, but Suga can’t imagine how anxious Daichi must be, and he bites his lip.

“It’s all gonna be fine,” he says, mostly to himself, but Asahi bumps him gently and replies, “Of course. I mean, unless you’re wrong and Kuroo isn’t actually into him, and Daichi’s going to be alone and heartbroken hours away in Tokyo…”

“Don’t be negative!” Suga whacks him in the stomach, hard enough that Asahi has to stop and hunch over for a moment.

He tosses his head. “Anyway, there’s no point thinking about Daichi until he texts us. So let’s just find Noya and Tanaka.”

They’d taken the day off along with Daichi to help psyche him up, and to see him off at the station. He’d looked especially pale as he boarded the train, second-guessing and third-guessing and fourth-guessing himself, but in the end he'd walked onto the train with squared shoulders and the letter clutched tightly in one hand. Since then, Suga and Asahi had entertained themselves with some shopping, lunch, and impromptu volleyball practice until school had ended. Noya and Tanaka were eager to know how Daichi’s confession would go, so Suga and Asahi had agreed to meet them at the school gates to wait for his message. But with students starting to spill out in droves, even Asahi’s height didn’t make it easy to spot them.

“Hey… Suga…”

“You see them?” Suga asks, still searching the crowd.

“Uh… I see _someone_ …”

Suga looks up at him, confused. “What?”

Asahi points, and Suga follows. It takes a second, but then people start to pull away, chasing after friends and laughing, leaving him with a clear line of sight of another high school student. A high school student not in uniform, but even if he had been, he still would have stuck out.

“ _Kuroo!?_ ”

Kuroo flinches at the shout, whipping his head around to find the source. When he locks eyes with the rapidly approaching Suga, Asahi struggling to keep up behind him, he starts to smile – but it drops at the thunderous look on Suga’s face.

“ _What_ are you doing here?” Suga stops dead in front of Kuroo, poking him in the chest.

“I… uh… Nice to see you two,” Kuroo tries to laugh, but it’s somewhat forced.

“There’s no time for pleasantries!” Suga says, interrupting Asahi’s attempt at a greeting. “What are you doing here?”

Kuroo’s gaze flickers away, and he tries to laugh again as he tugs at his collar. “Well… funny story actually… um… any chance you know where Sawamura is?”

Suga wants to grab Kuroo and shake him, but he restrains himself. Instead, he takes a deep, steadying breath and says as calmly as possible, “Yes, I know where he is.”

“Oh, cool,” Kuroo says, “Because I was kinda hoping I could… you know, talk to him.”

“I’m sure he’s thinking the same thing,” Suga mutters under his breath.

Kuroo frowns, but he doesn’t have the chance to ask the question before Suga’s answering it.

“He’s in Tokyo.”

It takes a moment for the news to sink in. When it does, Kuroo sputters, “ _W-What!?_ Did you just say he’s in _Tokyo!?_ ”

Asahi nods. “He, uh, he went to talk to you.”

“He… he went to talk to _me_?” Kuroo says, a little bewildered.

It’s then, as Suga’s facepalming harder than he’s ever facepalmed before (which is saying something, because he deals with the volleyball team on a near daily basis), that he notices the slightly crumpled envelope Kuroo’s holding on to for dear life and says, louder than he means to, “ _You’ve got to be kidding me_.”

“There you are!” Noya’s voice cuts through the stress currently crushing Suga’s brain and he looks up to see him and Tanaka approaching. The majority of the students have moved on by now, leaving only a few stragglers glancing in the direction of the drama.

“Yo, did Daichi…” Tanaka starts, and only then does he notice Kuroo, standing frozen and looking a little awestruck. He points at him and demands, “Wait, why is he here!?”

“Yeah, what’s going on?” Noya asks.

“Please,” Suga says, scrubbing a hand over his face, “tell me you didn’t come all the way here to confess your feelings for Daichi.”

The blush that overtakes Kuroo’s face is answer enough, and Suga groans.

“H-How did you…”

Asahi shakes his head. “Because Daichi went to Tokyo to do the same thing. To confess to you.”

“Yeah, with a letter and everything,” Noya says.

Kuroo stares at the envelope in his hands, then up at the boys surrounding him, then back down at the letter. Finally, he says, “He… likes me?”

“I’m calling Daichi,” Suga says, yanking his phone out.

* * *

“You realise that if you’re wrong and Sawamura isn’t into him, that you’re the one who’s going to be comforting him,” Kai says.

Yaku rolls his eyes. “I’m right. As soon as Sawamura reads that letter, he’s gonna be all over Kuroo like a rash. The problem’s going to be getting him to come back to Tokyo.”

Kai laughs gently, and Yaku smirks. They’d wanted to see Kuroo off at the station but Kai had had an important test in the morning that he couldn’t afford to miss, and Yaku knew he’d feel bad if he went and left his friend to suffer at school alone, so instead they’d settled for a text from Kuroo once he was on the train. He’d updated them every time something remotely interesting happened, resulting in Yaku’s phone nearly being confiscated. But he knew it was worth it – as much as he teased and fought with Kuroo, all he wanted was for him to be happy.

As he and Kai make their way to the school gates amid the torrent of other students escaping, Yaku keeps a firm grip on his phone, waiting for it to go off with a photo of Kuroo making out with his new boyfriend or something equally as obnoxious.

“He probably won’t text straight away,” Kai says, as if reading his mind. “He’s going to be too busy talking to Sawamura.”

“Yeah, ‘talking’,” Yaku snorts. “He better text. He can do whatever he likes after he’s informed us that our plan worked.”

“Uh, speaking of our plan,” Kai says, gesturing, “Isn’t that…?”

Yaku follows the direction of Kai’s hand. It’s hard at first, but then there’s a gap in the crowd of students, and he spots the out-of-place person.

“ _Sawamura!?_ ”

Yaku doesn’t care that Daichi jumps nearly a foot at the shout. He storms over to him, the other students parting to make way for the small angry libero and the taller boy trailing after him.

“Uh… hi, Yaku… Nobuyuki…” Daichi stammers.

“Oh no, you don’t get to be all polite and nice,” Yaku says, arms crossed tightly. “What do you think you’re doing here!?”

Daichi tries to reply, but Kai intervenes with a much softer, “We’re really surprised to see you.”

“I… I suppose you would be.” Daichi manages a nervous smile. “Uh… you don’t… happen to know where… Kuroo is?”

“Oh, I know exactly where he is,” Yaku mutters.

“Could you… tell me? I, uh, I have something to give him…”

“He has something for you too,” Kai says with a laughter-filled smile. “In Sendai.”

“Oh, that’s…” Daichi trails off as it hits him. Then a faint, “Wait, what?”

“Kuroo went to Sendai to see you.” Yaku runs a hand through his hair. Of course, it’d be too much to ask for their plan to go off without a hitch.

“He went to see me?” Daichi sounds like he’s about to pass out, and Kai puts a steadying hand on his arm.

It’s then that Yaku notices the creased and dog-earned envelope in Daichi’s hands, and he groans so loudly that his throat starts to hurt.

“I swear, if you tell me that you’ve got a love confession in that envelope, I’m…” He can’t even finish, throwing his hands up.

Daichi crunches the envelope even tighter, a raging blush colouring his face. “H-How…?”

Kai shakes his head. “That’s exactly what Kuroo’s done. He’s gone to Sendai to meet you, give you a letter confessing his feelings for you.”

Daichi stares into the distance for a long moment, seemingly processing the information. Finally, he squeaks, “He likes me?”

Yaku groans again, but it’s interrupted by Daichi’s phone ringing from his pocket. Hurriedly, Daichi pulls it out, checks the caller, and answers with a shaky, “Hey, Suga…”

Even though the call isn’t on speaker, Yaku can hear Suga’s voice as he demands, “Are you at Nekoma right now?”

“Uh… yeah… um, are you at Karasuno?”

“Yeah, look, the pair of you are morons. Kuroo’s here. He –”

Yaku doesn’t hear the rest of the sentence because he snatches the phone out of Daichi’s hand and says, “Hey Sugawara, it’s Yaku.”

“Oh, hey Yaku. Care to explain why Kuroo is currently standing outside my school with a love letter for Daichi?”

“Sure, if you’d like to explain why Sawamura is currently standing outside _my_ school with a love letter for Kuroo?”

There’s a pause, and then Suga breaks out into laughter. In the background, Yaku hears someone snort and say ‘he’s finally lost it’.

“Would I be correct,” Suga says, “in saying that you put Kuroo up to this?”

Yaku sighs. “Kai and I did.”

“Asahi and I told Daichi he should go to Tokyo. To be honest, I thought we were being very clever. I mean, how’s Kuroo supposed to resist him when he basically shows up on his doorstep like some climactic romantic movie moment?”

Yaku laughs, hard. “I told Kuroo that Sawamura seems like a traditionalist and would just eat up the whole ‘romantic confession of one’s deepest feelings on Valentine’s Day’ thing.”

He hears Daichi make a noise of protest but ignores it as Suga sniggers. “I can’t believe we messed it up this bad.”

“Hey, if you hadn’t told Sawamura to come here, then everything would be fine.”

“If _you_ hadn’t told Kuroo to come here, then everything would be amazing,” Suga shoots back. Before Yaku can respond, Suga continues, “Wait, hold on. Kuroo wants to talk to Daichi.”

“Well, I _suppose_ we should let them. I’ll give him his phone back.”

Yaku holds out the phone, says, “Kuroo wants to talk to you.”

Tentatively, Daichi takes the phone from him and holds it to his ear. “Kuroo?”

“Hey,” Yaku hears Kuroo reply, and all the tension Daichi was holding in dissipates in an instant. He smiles, genuine and soft, as Kuroo continues with an awkward, nervous explanation as to what exactly has happened.

“At least one good thing came from this,” Kai says.

“Hmm?”

“We know Sawamura definitely likes him.”

* * *

They agree to meet halfway.

Neither of them can stomach the idea of just going home as if nothing happened, even if they’d both stumbled over a confession on the phone. It’s not right.

The sun is low in the sky by the time Daichi makes his way out of the station. He ducks into the convenience store across the road for some food, considering he hasn’t eaten since he got on the train in Sendai. He doesn’t have long before Kuroo’s train is due though, so he wolfs the snacks down as quickly as possible so he can return to their meeting place.

He can’t believe the way the day has gone. He’d planned for a hard day, nearly ten hours of travel across what felt like half the country with no guarantee he’d get what he was hoping for out of the whole thing. Suga had been adamant everything would work out, but even with his confidence, Daichi hadn’t been _sure_. But for it turn out the way it has, a confusing mess of botched confessions – he hadn’t anticipated this at all.

He’s barely made it back to the station entrance when he sees him. He looks amazing, as always, because he’s Kuroo Tetsurou and everything he does is wonderful and effortless. Daichi swallows hard, his fingers closing even tighter over the letter in his pocket.

“Hey,” Kuroo says.

“Hey,” Daichi replies.

They stand there for a moment, silent, struggling to maintain eye contact. It’s weird – they know, they both know; this is almost a formality at this point, but somehow neither of them can bring themselves to verbalise what’s happening. Daichi sucks in a breath and, in one quick motion, yanks the letter out of his pocket and presents it in all its crumpled, crushed glory – at the exact same moment that Kuroo thrusts his own letter in Daichi’s face.

They stare at each other, at the letters, for a moment, before Daichi laughs. It’s involuntary to start with, but then the stupidity of the situation sets in and he’s laughing genuinely, and Kuroo’s laughing too, and it feels easier.

“This is ridiculous,” Daichi says as they swap letters.

“Not as ridiculous as both of us travelling over 300 kilometres just to find out we both had the same idea.”

Daichi smiles, and opens the letter.

**Sawamura Daichi**

**I don’t know how you’re supposed to write love confessions, but that’s what this is. We played that first practice game and I thought you were really hot, but I didn’t really let myself think that anything could happen because we were so far apart until the training camp, when I got your number. I know it was just all the captains exchanging numbers so we could stay in contact for solidarity or whatever, but I was just really happy to not have to ask for your number and make a fool of myself. I don’t know how you feel, but I wanted to tell you that I really like you, I think you’re really hot and sweet and kind and funny and genuine and amazing at volleyball and a great captain and I’d like to date you if that’s a thing you’d like to do.**

**If saying things is as hard for you as it is for me, then here’s a handy check box for you to use.**

**Do you like me too? [ ] YES [ ] NO**

**Would you like to date me? [ ] YES [ ] NO**

Daichi reads the whole thing twice, and then the second half again. When he looks up, Kuroo’s clutching his own letter like he’s afraid someone’s going to snatch it away, gaze soft as he reads and rereads.

Without a word, Daichi runs back across the street to the convenience store. Chest full to bursting, he asks the cashier for a pen, scribbles his answer, thanks the cashier profusely, and is back with Kuroo before the other even really has a chance to think about what’s just happened.

“Here,” Daichi says, breathless, holding out the letter.

Kuroo stares at him. “I thought you were ditching me for a second.”

“I didn’t spend six hours on a train to ditch you for the convenience store cashier.”

Kuroo blinks, then barks out a laugh. He takes the offered paper and immediately looks at the bottom of the page.

**Do you like me too? [X] YES [ ] NO**

**VERY MUCH**

**Would you like to date me? [X] YES [ ] NO**

**I WOULD LOVE TO**

“We’ve both been a bit stupid, haven’t we?” Daichi says.

“I mean, if you’d just stayed in Sendai, then everything would have worked out perfectly,” Kuroo retorts, pressing the letter back into the other’s hands.

“If _you’d_ stayed in Tokyo,” Daichi starts, but trails off with a laugh.

They’re quiet for a moment, and then Kuroo says in a low voice, “You… you actually do like me? Like, everything that’s happening right now is real?”

Daichi smiles nervously, looks away. “It’s real.”

Kuroo starts to say something else, but he’s distracted when his phone starts to buzz. Quickly he checks it, and mutters, “My train back to Tokyo is leaving soon, I’ll have to leave in like, five minutes.”

A sudden wave of panic overtakes Daichi. They’ve only just managed to see each other, talk to each other without all of their friends listening in and harassing them in the background. He doesn’t want to give that up just yet, even if he knows it’s a stupid feeling because that’s what this relationship is going to be – long distance, barely seeing each other, snatching moments when they’re not swamped by school work and volleyball and university prep.

 _Relationship_. The word plasters itself at the forefront of Daichi’s mind. _I’m dating Kuroo. I’m actually in a relationship with Kuroo_ freakin’ _Tetsurou._

“I’m really sorry,” Kuroo says, bringing Daichi out of his thoughts. “I wanted to have more time, but if I don’t catch this train the next one’s not for ages, and I won’t get home until really late and my parents will _kill_ me.”

“Not a great start to a relationship,” Daichi smiles.

Kuroo pauses, absorbs the sentence, smiles and looks away as a slight blush stains his cheeks. It’s so dumb, so pretty, that Daichi doesn’t even think – he reaches out, cups Kuroo’s face. It’s warm under his fingers, but that’s the last thing he registers before he yanks Kuroo in for a kiss and his mind blanks out.

For a solid fifteen seconds, Daichi kisses him, his brain recognising absolutely nothing except the fact that he’s moving his lips against Kuroo’s and Kuroo is kissing him back. When he stops, pulls away, Kuroo’s hands have migrated to the back of his neck and his shoulder and he’s staring at him like he’s the only person in the world.

“I’m sorry,” Daichi says, his voice scratchy, “I should have asked fi-”

This time Kuroo swoops in, slides his hand up into Daichi’s hair and drags him back in. This time it’s open-mouthed, and his tongue is in Daichi’s mouth, and Daichi would never admit it but he's thought about kissing Kuroo like this and it makes his knees incredibly weak. He falls into Kuroo, wrapping his arms around his shoulders for support. It feels like a century goes by before they separate from the kiss, although not from each other, both still clinging on with foreheads pressed together.

“Sawamura… I…” Kuroo mumbles.

“Daichi,” he says breathlessly. “Dai. Hell, call me whatever you like, as long as you keep kissing me like that.”

Kuroo laughs and says, “Okay, love,” before kissing him again.

This time when they stop, Daichi finds it much more difficult to speak. “You can’t… you can’t just spring that on me… I… you just can’t.”

“You said I could call you whatever I want.”

“ _Warning_ , please. Tetsurou.”

He looks up into his eyes, makes sure it is, in fact, okay. Kuroo presses a kiss to his forehead, says, “Tetsu is okay too. Also ‘love of my life’, ‘greatest volleyball player alive’, and ‘best person on the planet’ are all acceptable.”

Daichi snorts, Kuroo giggles. In the middle of it all, as Daichi tips his head up to kiss him again, Kuroo’s phone buzzes loudly and he swears.

“I really have to go,” he says, pained.

“Text me when you get home?”

“Yes, mother.”

They’re close enough that when Daichi brings his knee up, it hits Kuroo square in the crotch, although he’s nice enough to be somewhat gentle about it. Kuroo stumbles back a pace as Daichi crosses his arms over his chest.

“That one’s definitely off the table.”

Kuroo starts to shoot back a response, but his buzzing phone distracts him. He backs away towards the station, maintaining eye contact for as long as possible as he calls, “I’ll see you soon?”

“As soon as I can,” Daichi calls back.

Despite the fact the sun set long ago, Kuroo’s grin lights up the entire space around them – and then he’s gone, running to catch his train, and Daichi is alone again.

But this ‘alone’ feels different to any other ‘alone’ he’s ever felt. It’s painful and it sticks a little, but his heart is warm, his lips are tingling, and the ghost of Kuroo’s hand is still in his hair. Daichi smiles, and pulls out his phone.

**DAICHI [6:32]  
I’ll admit it. You were right.**

**SUGA [6:32]  
I know ;P**

* * *

Kuroo texts Yaku and Kai as soon as he gets on the train (with four seconds to spare) and he gets exactly what he expects in return – congratulations from Kai, playful ribbing from Yaku before he finally says he’s happy for him. He really wants to call Kenma and Bokuto, but he’s not sure he can formulate the words he wants right now, so he texts them as well, which gets him more expected responses.

**KENMA [6:41]  
I’m glad everything worked out the way you wanted. I suppose you’ll be even more insufferably cheerful from now on. Did you want to talk?**

**KOUTAROU [6:41]  
Bro! I’m really happy it all worked out! Even if it got all messed up XD Akaashi says he’s happy for you, and that you’re welcome for his help. Idk what he means. Wanna talk?**

Kuroo tells them both it’s okay, he’ll talk to them later, yes he’s going to be even more insufferable and no he doesn’t know what Akaashi means either. And then he spends the rest of the trip fielding texts from the rest of the Nekoma team, because of course Yaku isn’t about to keep his annoying little mouth shut. He even gets one from an unknown number that turns out to be Suga, warning him that if he breaks Daichi’s heart, that Suga knows people who know how to make other people disappear – after he’s finished breaking all of Kuroo’s fingers first. It’s graphically worded and a little ridiculous, but Kuroo doesn’t doubt for a second that Suga would defend Daichi viciously against any perceived slight.

By the time he gets home, he’s missed dinner, but his mother has put some leftovers in the fridge for him which he’s grateful for. She hovers while he scarfs them down, persistent in her questions about the day’s events. She demands to meet with Daichi as soon as possible before sending Kuroo off to his room for a decent night’s sleep after his exhausting day.

He gets changed, but that’s the only effort he makes before flopping into bed on his stomach. His body is ready to fall asleep right there and then, but his mind is racing much too fast for that. He retrieves both his phone and Daichi’s letter from the pile of clothes he’s left on the floor and settles down. He realises he has a text from Daichi, missed during the third degree from his mother.

**SAWAMURA [9:26]  
Home safe. Hope you’re okay**

He smiles. After a quick contact name change, Kuroo replies:

**TETSUROU [9:41]  
I’m home. Sorry I didn’t reply straight away. Was being interrogated by my mother.**

**DAICHI [9:41]  
My parents aren’t home, but I’m sure they’ll have plenty of questions for me tomorrow morning.**

**TETSUROU [9:42]  
Damn Dai, you can’t just pull the ‘my parents aren’t home’ when you’re 300km away**

**DAICHI [9:42]  
You’re impossible. Why do I like you?**

Kuroo laughs, and looks over at the letter Daichi had given him. Carefully, he unfolds it, wary of all the creases and the little tear in the upper left-hand corner, and reads through it again.

**Kuroo,**

**I don’t know how to say this, and apparently writing this out is supposed to make it easier, but it’s still so hard. I’m scared I’m going to look like a complete idiot, and I’m scared you don’t feel the same way, and I’m scared I’m going to ruin the friendship that we’ve made. But I’ve started writing this now, and it feels like a waste if I don’t follow through. Plus, Suga put me up to this, and if I don’t do it, he’ll probably kill me, and I’d rather like to at least graduate before I die.**

**I really like you, Kuroo. When we played that first practice game all that time ago, I saw you as a strong captain with your teammates’ best interests at heart, someone who loved the game, someone with passion – not just for volleyball, but you seemed like someone who put their all into everything. And I respected that. And I won’t lie, I thought you were hot.**

**But lots of people are hot, and I made myself not think about you too much. And then we were invited to the training camp, and I realised I was excited to see you again. The camp was an amazing time, and when Bokuto suggested we all exchange numbers to stay in contact, I couldn’t believe I was getting so lucky.**

**I really cherish the friendship that we’ve created since then, and I don’t want to ruin it, but hopefully, if you don’t feel the same way, we can still at least be civil and normal with each other, if not friends. We are going to see each other at games for a little while longer, after all.**

**I know I already said it, but having gotten this far, it actually feels easier now. I really like you. I admire all the traits I mentioned before – your strength, your love for your teammates, your passion. I also love your energy, your stupid sense of humour, your ambition, your terrible science jokes, your laugh, your smile – and yes, even though I pretend otherwise when you send me shirtless Snapchats, I do actually like your abs. They’re nice.**

**If you don’t feel the same way, I understand, and I won’t ever speak of this again. It’ll be like it never happened, I promise. But if, by some miracle, you do feel the same way, I definitely wouldn’t be opposed to something coming of it.**

**Anyway, I’m almost certain this is much longer than a love letter is supposed to be, so please, if you don’t like me, give me the letter back and walk away. If you do, then I’m here.**

**Sawamura Daichi**

Kuroo sighs, soft and happy. He gently refolds the letter and places it in the top drawer of his bedside table. Then, propping his head up with one hand, he texts back:

**TETSUROU [9:46]  
You think my abs are nice**

**DAICHI [9:47]  
Did I also mention in the letter that I find you incredibly obnoxious?**

**TETSUROU [9:47]  
Nope, just a lot of waxing poetic about my abs and how hot I am**

**DAICHI [9:47]  
I think you have the wrong letter**

**TETSUROU [9:48]  
Damn, this one must be from my side ho, Daishi**

**DAICHI [9:48]  
Isn’t Daishi the guy you like picking on from Nohebi?**

**TETSUROU [9:48]  
Oh, you think you’re funny, don’t you**

**DAICHI [9:49]  
No, you think I’m funny**

Kuroo shakes his head, smirking, and starts typing out a response, only to have his attention drawn away by a knock at the door.

“Yes?”

The door opens and his mother pokes her head in.

“I saw your light was on. Did I not tell you to go to bed?” she says, mockingly annoyed.

“Sorry, I’ll go to bed now.”

“Good. Love you.”

He calls it out in return as she flicks off his light and closes the door behind her. He knows she’ll come and check on him again in a few minutes to make sure he’s doing as he’s told, so he deletes his text and starts a new one.

**TETSUROU [9:50]  
You just got me in trouble with my mother. I hope you’re happy.**

**DAICHI [9:50]  
Thrilled. Why?**

**TETSUROU [9:51]  
I’m supposed to be asleep. I’ll text you tomorrow?**

**DAICHI [9:51]  
Okay. I should probably get some sleep too. Today really took a lot out of me**

**TETSUROU [9:51]  
Me too. Good night love**

**DAICHI [9:56]  
Good night, Tetsu**

Kuroo plugs his phone in, struggling a little with only the light from his screen to guide him, but once it’s charging he rolls onto his back, yanking the covers up over him. He stares at the ceiling, and smiles. If he thinks about it, he can still feel Daichi’s lips on his, see his shy smile, hear his laugh.

A pretty good Valentine’s Day, if you asked him.


End file.
